The present invention relates to the field of umbrellas, particularly hand-held umbrellas.
Hand-held umbrellas are used by individuals of all ages and occupations for a variety of reasons and in a variety of manners. For example, they may be used as protection from the sun or the rain, or for promotional opportunities when the dome of the umbrella is imprinted with a promotional message. An umbrella dome is sometimes spun to provide a visual effect, for example as in dance recitals which have participants manually twirling umbrellas of various sizes, colors and designs. The theme or atmosphere to be created by the rotated dome design may be enhanced by the presence of an appropriate musical tune, such as that provided by a band or loud speaker system.
Rotating umbrellas have been previously disclosed. Peck U.S. Pat. No. 2,224,882 discloses a "giant" umbrella whose housing is imbedded in the ground. The umbrella may be rotated by a motor or other powered member. Smyrnow U.S. Pat. No. 2,729,220 discloses a revolving fan parasol with apparatus for creating a current of air directed over the body of the user. The rotation of the parasol is accomplished by actuation of a mechanical crank at the handle portion of the parasol. Redl et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,987 discloses a rotatable shade umbrella tiltable about a horizontal axis and which can be rotated about a vertical axis. Each of the previously disclosed rotating umbrellas requires either manual actuation of the rotation mechanism, or if motorized, attachment to the ground or similarly solid surface.
Umbrellas with radios incorporated into the umbrella handles also have been previously disclosed. Nesbit U.S. Pat. No. 4,915,670, Nesbit U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,239 and Devine U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,187 disclose umbrellas with radios incorporated into the umbrella handles. Devine discloses an umbrella handle with a removable radio handle which includes earphones for listening to the radio. Nesbit U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,239 includes a radio attached to the shaft of the umbrella and speaker assemblies attached to the inside of the dome of the umbrella.